ExoMars arrival seen by Mars Express

This animation shows the view of the arrival of ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and the Schiaparelli Entry, descent and landing Demonstrator Module as seen from ESA’s Mars Express on 19 October 2016.

More specifically, it shows the field of view as ‘seen’ by the Melacom radio receiver on Mars Express, which will be receiving signals from Schiaparelli beginning at 13:22 GMT (15:22 CEST) and ending at 15:08 GMT (17:08 CEST). The record of these signals from Schiaparelli will provide a critical indication of the module’s descent progress, trajectory and landing.At the start of the animation, TGO and Schiaparelli are shown already separated, which is set to occur at 14:42 GMT (16:42 CEST) on 16 October.

The animation covers the time period between approximately 13:35 GMT (15:35 CEST) and 15:27 GMT (17:27 CEST) on 19 October, including the expected time of Schiaparelli touch down at 14:47 GMT (16:47 CEST).

At the end of the animation, Melacom has stopped recording signals from Schiaparelli and the view rotates as Mars Express slews into an Earth-pointing orientation to transmit the recorded signals to mission controllers at ESA’s ESOC operations centre in Darmstadt, Germany.